Don’t forget about our plans for publishing during the holidays.

    In the past few years, Americans have done a pretty good job of whittling down their debt load. If you’re in this group, you may now have a chance to use your lower level of indebtedness to your advantage  — by investing for the future.

Submitted by Gary Coon

Here’s a disturbing statistic: One out of every five Americans over the age of 65 has been victimized by a financial scheme, according to the Investor Protection Trust, a nonprofit organization devoted to investor education. If your parents are in this age group, should you be concerned? And can you help them avoid being “scammed” so that they maintain control over their finances?

 By Jeff Roth

With all of the national concerns, even protection of our funds in a nationally insured banking institution can be at issue. Several years ago the government increased the amount of coverage from $100,000.00 to $250,000.00 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. The government devised a very complicated formula to determine exactly how much would be protected. It combines the entire depositor’s like accounts in the calculation. Protection is granted based on ownership and stated beneficiaries.

I would like to extend my personal thanks to all who once again donated to our Mitten Tree. Our friends at Salvation Army came by to pick up the last of the decorations on Monday. We were able to provide to the needy of Ottawa County a total of 174 items, many of which were beautifully hand knitted just for the Mitten Tree.